by Kyrii Rayne
"Oh yeah? What's that?"
Garrett glared at Eddie and smirked.
"I can't believe how much you've changed, Garrett? You used to understand what the job was about. But now? All over some girl? I mean, don't get me wrong. She's sweet. Very charming. She was wearing her turquoise scrubs yesterday. Not the best color on her but still, it really brought out her blue eyes and the sickly yellow of her skin."
"What are you talking about? You were there?"
Eddie ignored Garrett's question.
"You really think some girl is going to fall in love with you? You're fucking stupid, Garrett. No way that girl is in love with you."
Garrett glanced around the parking lot and leaned into Eddie's window.
"Stay the fuck away from Allyson. You go anywhere near her, and I will fucking kill you. And I won't need a full moon to do that."
Before Eddie could mutter a word, Garrett walked away from him.
"You know why we chose you, right Garrett? Because guys like you aren't capable of love. That's why we chose you!"
Garrett ignored Eddie's taunts. His pickup truck started up without problem and he pulled out into traffic. He didn't need to turn around. Eddie's stare bore a hole into the back of his neck.
Damn it. What the fuck was he doing with Allyson? Garrett took in a deep breath and prepared himself for a long night. No way he was telling the truth.
"He was lying," he tried to convince himself. "He had to be."
He glanced into his rearview mirror several times, watching for a sign that Eddie followed. Finally, Garrett decided to stop over at the hospital and check in on Allyson.
At the hospital, the waiting room for emergency was packed. She's not going to want to see me, he convinced himself. But he had to try.
He couldn't take the chance he was wrong.
"Hi, I wonder if I could just talk to Allyson Montaine for a few minutes?"
"Oh, hi Garrett," the lady behind the desk said. Her eyes peered down to Garrett's shoes and then crawled back up to his face. "Mm, mm, mm. Seattle sun really agrees with you."
The thin chain carrying her eyeglasses twinkled in the fluorescent lighting. While her dress screamed young, her graying hair and the fine lines gathering around her eyes told a different story.
He smiled and nodded.
"Thanks, Tiffany. Um, about Allyson?"
"Right. She is here, but we've been a bit swamped. Let me just check with her and see when she's due for her break."
"Great, thanks."
Garrett fumbled with the brochures on the countertop while he waited, eventually giving up and tucking his hands into his pockets. Finally, Tiffany returned.
"I'm so sorry, Garrett. She's terribly busy and won't be able to come up for air for quite a while. Like I said, we've been swamped here."
"Such is the life of a nurse, huh?" Garrett pretended Tiffany wasn't lying to his face. "Can you tell me, is she feeling any better today than she was yesterday? She left in such a hurry this morning I haven't had a chance to talk to her yet."
"Well, she seems all right to me. Haven't heard any complaints yet. But I will let her know you stopped by."
*****
Eddie pulled his truck into a parking spot and sauntered into the gas station. There was no need for him to follow Garrett. He already knew exactly where Garrett would go.
He was good at his job.
He's going to freak out that I was with Allyson, he told himself. And head straight over to the hospital to check on her. Eddie placed a bottle of water and a pack of gum up on the counter and winked at the cashier.
"You find everything okay?"
"Oh yeah. Everything was exactly where I thought it would be." He pasted on his best smile, keeping the cashier's eyes on him. "You, doll, are truly beautiful. Has anyone ever told you that?"
Amber blushed behind the counter as she punched on the keys at the register.
"Just, n-no. Not really."
"Well, you are. So... give me three good reasons why I shouldn't take you out to dinner tonight."
"Um, well, for one thing I'm at work."
"Oh you can get off work," he said as he turned to the other cashier. "Right? You can let her off work a little early?"
Todd nodded and rolled his eyes.
"It's fine. We're not that busy and Michelle will be here in a few minutes anyway."
"See," Eddie said with a smile. "It's fine."
"Well, I don't even know you."
"Right. I'm Eddie. I'm a psychic."
"A psychic?"
"Yep. I can tell you your future."
Amber tucked her hand into her back pocket and spun on her heels.
"Oh yeah? And what's that?"
Eddie grabbed her other hand and scribbled on it with a pen.
"There," he said a few seconds later. "There's my phone number. That's your future."
"Reason number three. You are presumptuous." Amber giggled.
Eddie cocked his head to the side and smiled. "Only when I'm right. So what do you say? Want to head out?"
Amber squealed as she grabbed her jacket and accompanied Eddie outside.
"Which car is yours?" Eddie asked. She led him around the building to a yellow beetle near the back.
Perfect, he thought. He opened the passenger door for Amber and ushered her in. She smiled, giddy at how much of a gentleman Eddie appeared to be. At the last second, Eddie leaned in close. The pinch of a needle caught Amber by surprise. She didn't have time to scream before her eyes closed and Eddie shut her door.
Several minutes later, Eddie was cruising down the highway toward the hospital, Amber knocked out in the passenger seat. He liked those tranquilizers.
"If I had used that on the other one, none of this would have even happened," he said out loud.
At the hospital, Eddie smiled and watched Garrett climb back into his pickup truck.
"What did I tell you?" he asked the drugged passenger next to him. "And this is why I was chosen - because I get shit done."
Eddie stared at Garrett's pickup truck trying to put together the next part of his plan. Stay with Garrett or stay with Allyson?
"You see, nabbing someone like Allyson is going to be tough," he said out loud. He glanced over at Amber. "Much tougher than nabbing you. So I need to plan this out carefully. Garrett's a bit of a wild card when it comes to her." He tapped his teeth with the tip of his thumbnail and plotted. "Best bet is to get rid of him first," he whispered. "Her place is small, nowhere to run or hide." He slammed his fist against the steering wheel and laughed. "All right. Here we go."
*****
Garrett's eyes darted around the parking lot on his way out of the hospital. He hated how large and open the lot was. Sure, it worked well for surveillance videos, but for people walking through who needed to search for others, it was a nightmare.
Nearly impossible to see if someone was watching you.
He loaded himself up into his pickup truck and grabbed his notepad.
Notes detailing Allyson's habits, schedules, and other bits of information. He scribbled down a few new notes and prepared himself for a long drive.
"Can't take the chance of Eddie following me out to the cabin. Got to make sure I lose him in the city before I head out that way. I should swing by the apartment and double check to make sure he isn't back there, though." Garrett took a deep breath and started up his engine. "Still need to continue as planned. I'll just need to come up with a new plan for getting her out to the cabin."
He backed up and headed out into traffic.
Chapter Seven
Back at Allyson's apartment building, Eddie pulled into the parking lot and waited. He glanced around from space to space, anxious to see whether or not he had arrived before Garrett, as he’d planned.
Success.
He found a shady spot near the back of the parking lot, around the corner, tucked in behind the hedges. This was the same parking spot he had picked out the first time he’d approached Allyso
n. Hard to spot, and well hidden. Even in broad daylight.
Amber posed another problem. No telling how long he had before the tranquilizer wore off. Chances are she would start screaming the second she woke up. He needed to make sure that she didn't draw any unnecessary attention to him.
He popped the trunk and shuffled some things around.
"All right my dear," he whispered as he tucked Amber into the trunk. He took a syringe out of a small pouch and stuck her in the arm. "You just stay right here. Nice and quiet."
He closed the trunk and smiled at how well he’d managed to time everything out. The unmistakable olive-green pickup truck pulled in and parked several yards away from Eddie's spot. Eddie checked the gun in its holster and the knife in its sheath hanging from his belt, and readied himself.
Garrett stopped in at the mail office first. Checking his box for any letters, notes, and packages, and filtering through the couple of envelopes before tossing the unwanted junk mail into the trashcan. Minutes later, he fumbled in his jeans pocket for his keys.
Eddie held his breath and snuck up behind Garrett as the door to Garrett's apartment opened. Using his body weight, he managed to shove Garrett into the apartment and get the door closed before Garrett had a chance to react.
Garrett came around swinging, his fist cracking against the side of Eddie's face. The air filled with the tension of testosterone and instinct. Garrett grabbed Eddie by the collar of his plaid shirt and whirled him around behind before tossing him onto the floor. He stomped down with his boot, catching hardwood as Eddie rolled his head out of the way. Eddie jumped back up and ducked in to tackle Garrett, slamming him back against the wall.
Raspy grunts escaped from Garrett's throat as his head slammed against the wall behind him. He wedged his elbow into Eddie's neck, applying pressure against his Adam's Apple. Eddie finally shoved off from Garrett.
Gasping to catch his breath, he reached for his gun. Garrett swung and knocked the gun free from Eddie's grasp.
Eddie yelled then grabbed Garrett's shoulders and hurled him across the room. Garrett slammed headfirst into the bookshelf. Wood splintered and fell on top of him. Eddie scrambled for his gun as Garrett kicked his way out from the books.
Garrett tackled Eddie, coming down on him with both fists and they wrestled. Garrett kicked the gun across the floor. Then stopped.
Warm trickles itched at his side.
He pulled his hand away from his side.
Blood.
Eddie shoved himself away from him, the blade still covered in Garrett's blood. The force of Eddie's push knocked Garrett to his knees.
"Told you to do your fucking job. Now at least you'll be out of the way while I do mine."
Garrett tried to stand up, holding onto his side and using the coffee table as support. He fell back, unable to hold his own weight. His breath wheezed and weakened. Eddie raised his foot and landed it onto Garrett's kidney. Confident that Garrett wasn't getting up again, Eddie wiped the blood off his knife and headed out the door.
With a few quick jabs at the door locks he let himself into Allyson's apartment. Waiting for Allyson to return home seemed to take forever. Eddie hated waiting.
He took his boredom and frustration out on the apartment - rummaging through and knocking over nick-knacks, flipping through papers and mail. He didn't care what condition he left the apartment in. Cleaning up the mess was no concern of his.
He hated waiting.
Finally, footsteps approached the door.
Eddie peered out the window. Allyson, walking up the stairs. Alone.
Perfect.
Her hand dipped into her purse as she tried to find her keys – she was so distracted that she didn't even notice the door was already open and waiting for her. Eddie grabbed a washcloth from the hall closet and pulled the chloroform from his pocket. He slipped around the corner and readied himself.
*****
"I really need to clean this thing out," Allyson told herself as she fumbled for her keys. Curiosity and confusion washed over her all at once when she realized the door was open.
"What the hell?" She stepped through the door frame and glanced around the apartment. "Seriously, Garrett? This is what you're stooping to now?" She sighed and stepped over a turned over chair as she tried to force the door closed. "Son of a bitch."
Allyson shook her head and contemplated calling the police.
"No, that'll probably just provoke him into doing something worse. I knew he was crazy. But I never thought he would stoop to this."
She walked in deeper, kicking papers and nick-knacks to clear a path, and tossed her purse over onto the recliner. Eddie tried to sneak up behind her, the drugged cloth in his outstretched hand. Her head turned in time to see him and she screamed.
Allyson reached for the nearest thing to her - an umbrella stand. She swung it at Eddie. His face recoiled from the strike. He ducked and ran up low to tackle her. She whirled around and dodged his grasp, forcing his fist to close over empty hair. He growled and ran after her again.
Still screaming, Allyson turned the corner and headed into the kitchen. She fumbled at the countertops, trying to grip anything she could use as leverage against his pulls. Eddie snaked his arm around her waist, yanking her back against him as he tried to place the cloth over her face.
She kicked, catching him in the shin with her heel. Stomping into his instep. She threw her head back, crushing his jaw to shut over his tongue.
"I'm going to fucking kill you!"
Eddie's brief recoil and scream gave her the chance to escape again.
Allyson threw everything over her shoulder at him. Papers. Drawers. Knives. Anything that might hurt or slow his advance as she tried to run away.
The gun, she remembered. Garrett kept a gun in the bedroom. She twirled and ducked, making her way to the bedroom. Allyson couldn't tell if the screaming in her ears was out loud or not.
She stormed into the bedroom, sinking to her knees as she reached under the mattress in search of the gun.
Eddie caught up to her, pulling her back by the hair and throwing her onto the bed. He pinned her down with his body, sealing the cloth over her nose and mouth. Allyson shook her head, trying in vain to loosen his hold. Her claws caught him across the face.
The stench of alcohol attacked and burned her sinuses. The cloth muffled her cries until they stopped. His grimace started to fade and grow further away. Allyson continued to claw at his hand, trying to move the cloth.
No use.
Her fingers tingled and fell limp.
Garrett's voice echoed through her mind.
"Let her go!" he yelled.
Too late, Allyson thought. Too late.
Chapter Eight
Garrett leaned against the door frame, gun in hand and pointed right at Eddie.
Eddie held the cloth over Allyson's face with one arm and sat up straight. His other arm held the gun aimed at Garrett's head.
"I said let her go, Eddie."
Garrett's gun didn't waver.
"You really think you can shoot me before I shoot you?" Eddie taunted.
"Either way you're getting shot," Garrett replied. "I warned you to stay away from her."
"What value do your warnings carry?" Eddie sneered. "As if I would ever listen to someone like you."
Garrett smirked. Eddie flinched.
Both guns rang out. Smoke filled the air.
Eddie threw Allyson's body over toward Garrett and pushed past him toward the front door. Garrett took a second to lay Allyson's body on the floor before chasing after Eddie. More gun shots. Eddie screamed and shot behind him blindly.
By the time Garrett reached the door, Eddie was gone from his sight. He glanced around the parking lot.
Empty. No movement.
"Damn it," he swore out loud. His eyes darted back and forth across the apartment. "Come on, Allyson."
He pressed his ear to her chest and held his breath.
"Still breathing," he whispered. "Ti
me to get you out of here."
Garrett scooped Allyson into his arms, locked up her apartment and loaded her into his truck. A few quick glances into the rearview mirror and he was off, darting from one lane to another to avoid traffic. Part of him was glad Allyson was already knocked out. He wasn't sure he could fight off both her and Eddie. It'll make getting her out to the cabin by Lake Youngss easier. Guilt tingled deep in his chest at the thought. I shouldn't be so worried about what's easier.
His eyes kept flashing to the rearview mirror. Looking for a sign of being followed. Eddie's car was nowhere in sight. His side burned. The tee shirts he’d wrapped around himself as bandages wouldn't do their job for long.
Damn it. Eddie's probably got a new car by now. Garrett swiped the radio dial, settling on the news. At the last stoplight before turning to leave the city, he leaned over to check Allyson's breathing and pulse.
She's strong, he thought with a smile. She'll need to be.
The cabin was just as he’d left it. Garrett carried Allyson inside and laid her down on the bed in the main bedroom. Careful to leave the door open so he could hear if she stirred, he went about his business of hiding the truck beneath some branches.
"Full moon tonight," he whispered. "Eddie will be back sooner rather than later."
The refrigerator was filled with food, the cupboards were full of supplies and the basement was stocked with everything they might need for several days. He hoped that the thick trees would provide enough cover to hide the cabin.
"Allyson," he rehearsed in the bathroom mirror. "This isn't going to be easy to tell you. No, not that's not right. Allyson, you aren't going to believe this. No... Allyson, you know how in horror movies--."
"In horror movies what?" Allyson called out from behind him.
Garrett swung around from the mirror and gazed at her. "Allyson, I--."
"Don't touch me," she batted his outstretched arm away from her. "How did I get here?"
*****
Allyson turned her attention away from his reflection and onto Garrett as he turned around to face her.
